The Jakarta Post
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsDeath toll from Java Sea ferry sinking jumps to 64
The search operation would be extended a further seven days but will be evaluated every three days as dozens are still missing.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Set as preferred source
Indonesian Navy personnel maneuver their boats on Sept. 17, 2026 directly above the Virgo Transport 8 passenger ship which capsized in the Java Sea waters. The Virgo Transport 8 carried 213 passengers and 30 crew when it lost contact with its shipping company after departing from Surabaya, East Java to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan on Sept. 13. (AFP/Handout/Indonesian Navy)
T
he death toll of the accident on the Virgo Transport 8 ship that capsized and sank in the Java Sea has jumped to 64, an official said on Saturday, as rescuers extended the search for dozens still missing.
The vessel was carrying 213 passengers and 30 crew when it lost contact with its shipping company after departing from Surabaya in East Java headed for Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan on Sept. 13.
"Out of 243 persons onboard, 172 have been evacuated, 108 survived, 64 died, and 71 are still being searched for," National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) official Yudhi Bramantyo told a news conference.
Rescuers recovered four bodies from the submerged ship on Saturday, while seven others were found along the shoreline, Yudhi said.
He added that the search operation would be extended a further seven days but will be evaluated every three days.
Search-and-rescue operations typically last for seven days in Indonesia, and authorities can extend them based on factors including an assessment that some of the victims could still be recovered.
Marine accidents regularly occur in Indonesia, a vast Southeast Asian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands that relies heavily on boat connections for daily transport and tourism. Lax safety standards and unpredictable weather are often the main reasons for disasters.
